{"id":570477,"date":"2026-08-16T05:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/570477\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T05:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:34:10","slug":"warriors-v-broncos-andrew-webster-faces-halfback-injury-crisis-as-another-no-7-goes-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/570477\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors v Broncos: Andrew Webster faces halfback injury crisis as another No 7 goes down"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cJust a hamstring,\u201d Webster said of Metcalf. \u201cObviously he was very emotional at the start, but he\u2019s come good in that sense.<\/p>\n

\"LukeLuke Metcalf limps off the field after suffering a hamstring injury against the Brisbane Broncos. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he\u2019s been a good teammate, at halftime he came and joined the team, sat down with them. We don\u2019t know any more \u2013 he\u2019s never done a hamstring kicking a goal, and he hasn\u2019t done that hamstring for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cTe Maire won\u2019t be ready next week, that we know of. He might be, but we\u2019ll worry about that next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

That, then, leaves Webster with few options heading into the final three games of the regular season, if not the finals afterwards.<\/p>\n

Aside from the injured trio of Metcalf, Martin and Boyd, the Warriors\u2019 reserve-grade halfback Jett Cleary has reportedly requested a release from the final year of his contract, to join the Penrith Panthers.<\/p>\n

As seen when Metcalf did the same to join the St George Illawarra Dragons<\/a> next season, the Warriors will have to be cautious over how they manage Cleary. If he plays and picks up an injury of his own, any potential future contract would also be at risk.<\/p>\n

That effectively leaves one man standing for the position. While Chanel Harris-Tavita has found success as the Warriors\u2019 starting five-eighth, playing an hour at halfback against the Broncos showed he\u2019s more than up to the job.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Warriors celebrate Chanel Harris-Tavita’s try against the Brisbane Broncos. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

Taking on the playmaking responsibilities, Harris-Tavita had one try, a try assist, one linebreak and a game-high 522 kicking metres.<\/p>\n

He was initially thrust into the Warriors\u2019 NRL plans as a hopeful halfback in the wake of Shaun Johnson leaving for the Cronulla Sharks in 2019.<\/p>\n

However, the 27-year-old has now more than found his home as the Warriors\u2019 go-to at No 6. It\u2019s no coincidence that the likes of Metcalf and Boyd in particular have enjoyed breakout seasons with Harris-Tavita as their halves partner.<\/p>\n

And now, if he is the man to fill in at halfback until one of his teammates \u2013 likely Martin \u2013 returns to full fitness, Harris-Tavita\u2019s teammates have all the confidence that he\u2019s the man for the job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just thought the way we went about our business tonight was really professional,\u201d co-captain Mitch Barnett said. \u201cI love how Chanel stood up tonight and really took control.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019ve got blokes doing that sort of thing, it makes your job a lot easier. [We were] really professional.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Warriors will return to Sydney next weekend, where they\u2019ll meet the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Saturday night, before closing out the regular season with back-to-back home games against the Newcastle Knights and the Manly Sea Eagles.<\/p>\n

Alex Powell<\/a> is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cJust a hamstring,\u201d Webster said of Metcalf. \u201cObviously he was very emotional at the start, but he\u2019s come…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[20251,9526,806,9218,9687,537,6097,6119,5275,26882,15258,13840,281262,13631,111,139,1536,7805,59741,69,5425,6926,213,46849,1529,698,3006,20252,4518,1533,102,80],"class_list":["post-570477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-andrew","tag-another","tag-as","tag-before","tag-broncos","tag-crisis","tag-down","tag-faces","tag-goes","tag-halfback","tag-injury","tag-like","tag-mentality","tag-never","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-next","tag-no","tag-nrls","tag-nz","tag-regular","tag-season","tag-sports","tag-tested","tag-three","tag-until","tag-warriors","tag-webster","tag-weeks","tag-will","tag-with","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}